🏀 Men's Bracketology: Duke the new top seed
updated
The ESPN Bracketology team isn't sleeping this offseason. We've been tracking all the news of the sport -- including the eligibility lawsuits -- and poring over schedules to project the newly expanded 76-team NCAA tournament field.
Bracket Watch
CincinnatiLast Team In 
Arizona StFirst Team Out
As summer winds down and roster building wraps up (we hope!), the 2026-27 season is coming into focus. While Florida remains an overwhelming choice to begin the campaign as the nation's top-ranked team, the Gators no longer have the inside track to the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed. The release of conference pairings and nonconference schedules shifts that distinction to Duke, which plays seven games against the top 10 teams on our seed list, including a visit to Gainesville on Dec. 1. Duke's projected résumé is a tick ahead of Florida's at this point, moving the Blue Devils into the East Region and slotting the Gators into a more natural South Region position. Meanwhile, Arizona elevates to the No. 1 seed in the West. It simply makes sense to have each of the preseason Power 4 favorites -- Duke (ACC), Florida (SEC), Illinois (Big Ten) and Arizona (Big 12) -- anchoring this 76-team field.
Note: Gonzaga (formerly WCC) and Central Arkansas (formerly ASUN) are the designated automatic qualifiers in their new conferences, Pac-12 and UAC (formerly WAC), respectively. Saint Mary's remains the AQ for the WCC. Conference memberships officially changed July 1.
the bracket
New team =Re-entered bracket =
Automatic Qualifier:Projected = Confirmed =
East-New York
Charlotte
Sacramento
Minneapolis
Pittsburgh
West-Los Angeles
Sacramento
Spokane
Minneapolis
Fort Worth
South-San Antonio
Charlotte
Spokane
Fort Worth
Louisville
Midwest-Kansas City
Louisville
Omaha
Omaha
Pittsburgh
on the bubble
Multi-bid Conferences
number of teams in bracketWomen's Bracketology
by Charlie Creme
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